Chris stepped up to the plate. He looked at the pitcher and snarled.   He had this!  He threw the bat around his head, stretching his muscles.  He tapped the bat on the ground raising a cloud of dust.  The pitcher was ready to throw so Chris stepped back - make him wait!  Break his concentration! Chris smiled as he got back into position.  He turned to smile at the crowd - they must be loving this!  Just then the ball flew past his head - strike one, yelled the ref.  Chris looks back at the crowd - I got this , he yells - as the second ball flies past his wrist.  “Strike two!” Chris steps out of the box and takes a deep breathe trying to relax and fix his approach. He steps back in, eyeing the pitcher down to show confidence.  He sears again and the crowd starts to cheer a little.  Chris, being such an egotistical guy, looked at the crowd again - the ball slips past him.  “Strike three.  Sit down, boy!”
   Chris walks to the dugout and the crowd is geering. As Chris takes the field to play defense the crowd gives him grief for striking out in such a close game. As the warriors are trailing 5-6 against the tigers they needed to play solid defense to stay in this game. luckily with the warriors playing good defense two innings later Chris was up to bat with a runner on second and two outs. Chris, trying to stay relaxed, steps into the box and taps the bat on the ground to signal he is ready. The pitcher looks bob in the eyes and smiles. *the pitch is thrown and Chris swings and misses* ¨Strike one!¨ says the ump. Chris steps out and takes a few practice swings and looks down at the third base coach, the coach gives him the sign to drop a bunt. ¨what is this guy thinking?! this could end the game for us.¨ Chris whispers to himself as he steps back into the box. The pitcher looks at the runner then at Chris, as the pitcher goes to throw the ball the runner on second takes off to steal a base, reaching out to bunt the ball he pulls back and turns around. *PLUNK* The pitcher hit Chris in the back. ¨Take your base.¨ says the ump. A few pitches later Chris scores the winning run thanks to his team mate.  After the game Chris walks up to his coach as asks to get some extra help at practice with his hitting. Chris worked hard and listened to what his coaches were trying to tell him to help him learn how to be a better hitter. During the next game a few days later Chris found himself up to bat with 2 outs and a runner on third base while down by two runs. Chris takes a deep breathe and steps in the box, taps his bat on the ground to signal he is ready to hit, eyeing down the pitcher without a doubt in his mind that he is gonna hit this ball and help his team. The pitcher winds up and throws….. Chris swings *KNOCK* he makes contact! but he hit it right to a fielder and gets himself out. A couple innings later Chris is in The exact same situation. He takes a few practice swings before he steps in the box. Chris steps in the box and waits on the pitcher to throw the ball. The pitcher winds up and releases the ball. ¨strike one!¨ yells the ump. Chris shakes it off and is ready to hit again. The pitcher winds up and hurls the ball. *KNOCK!* Chris makes contact and it´s a great hit, all the way to the wall. Chris is hustling around the base paths trying to score and tie the game up for his team. ¨DOWN! DOWN!¨ everyone scream at chris to slide into home plate because the ball is flying in and he might get tagged out. *Chris slides and the catcher catches the ball as a huge cloud of dust rises up* ¨SAFE!¨ the ump yells! Chris hit an inside the park homerun and tied the game up! Chris is the hero for this game! Hard work paid off for Chris and it helped his team win the game!